Financially challenged Portsmouth are still dealing with an astonishing wage bill as they prepare for life in League One, according to a special report in the Daily Mail. The paper reveals that defender Tal Ben Haim is still earning a staggering £36,000 a week, while the club has 10 players on their books that are costing them a total of £11m a year in wages.
The club are still in administration, but the players are entitled to be paid in full under the football creditors' rule.
"For the club to survive, we have to sell them," administrator Trevor Birch admitted to the Mail.
"They are on wages that are unsustainable at League One level. They are all for sale. We have already made some savings, but it isn't enough to save the football club."
The big wages are remnants from Pompey's days in the Premier League, when they overspent in pursuit of glory.
The Mail also claims that former players - such as Michael Brown, Richard Hughes, Aruna Dindane, Benjani, David Nugent, Hassan Yebda, Ricardo Rocha and David James - are all owed 'substantial sums of money'.
"We are negotiating with the (ex) players, but so much depends on whether an agreement can be reached," said Birch.
"The sums of money are so vast that it complicates the matter and the players can always fall back on the football creditors ruling, which means they must get paid."
